How do companies build, test and ship code automatically without a dedicated tool?

Companies do this through a process called CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery/Deployment). The interesting part is that they don't necessarily need a dedicated CI/CD product. They can build an automation system using existing infrastructure, programming languages, Git, shell scripts, servers, and APIs. Think of it as building a small software factory. How automated software delivery works The automated delivery pipeline Developer writes code Developer pushes code to Git.…

1. Docker — The application is packaged into a deployable artifact, such as a Docker image.
2. GitLab — This is the basic architecture described by TechTarget's CI/CD guide and GitLab's pipeline documentation.
3. GitHub — Why would a company build its own instead of using Jenkins or GitHub Actions?
4. Kubernetes — For Kubernetes, teams can also store deployment configurations in Git and apply them declaratively.
5. AWS — AWS: Building a CI/CD pipeline.
6. Jenkins — Why would a company build its own instead of using Jenkins or GitHub Actions?
7. Buildkite — That's why companies often eventually adopt tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Buildkite.

They use a CI/CD pipeline: a scripted workflow connected to version control. “Without a dedicated tool” usually means they assemble the automation from Git hooks, shell scripts, schedulers, cloud APIs, and deployment commands rather than using a single CI/CD product. A typical flow is: Developer pushes code to Git. A trigger runs a script—for example, a webhook, cron job, or Git server hook. Build script installs dependencies and compiles/packages the application. Tests run automatically,…

1. Docker — The build produces a versioned artifact, such as a Docker image, binary, package, or static bundle.
2. Kubernetes — The same approach can use Make, Maven, Gradle, npm, Docker, SSH, Kubernetes commands, Terraform, or cloud-provider CLIs.
3. Terraform — The same approach can use Make, Maven, Gradle, npm, Docker, SSH, Kubernetes commands, Terraform, or cloud-provider CLIs.

1. Jenkins — Building, testing, and shipping code automatically without a dedicated CI/CD tool like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions requires setting up custom automation scripts and native OS mechanisms .
2. GitLab — Building, testing, and shipping code automatically without a dedicated CI/CD tool like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions requires setting up custom automation scripts and native OS mechanisms .
3. GitHub — Building, testing, and shipping code automatically without a dedicated CI/CD tool like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions requires setting up custom automation scripts and native OS mechanisms .
4. Docker — These scripts handle compilation, asset minification, and packaging into deployable artifacts (like a tar.gz archive or Docker container).